Conversion Processes and Social Networks in Latin America

2020 ◽  
pp. 307-327
Author(s):  
Henri Gooren
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Life History ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Central American ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Santiago De Chile ◽  
Main Growth

Different varieties of Pentecostalism are successful in Latin America, where Chile, Brazil, and the Central American countries are now 20 to 30 percent Protestant. This chapter analyzes conversion processes and social networks in Latin America by comparing the two extremes of Pentecostal growth. Paraguay is arguably the least Pentecostalized country in the region, whereas Chile is one of the most Pentecostal. Based on recent ethnographic fieldwork research in Asunción and Santiago de Chile, the chapter first reviews the literature on Pentecostal growth in Latin America and establishes the main growth periods of Pentecostalism in both countries, identifying some of the most successful churches. Next, it analyzes the role of conversion in these churches by drawing on the conversion career approach, using quotes from life history interviews. Individual, contextual, and institutional factors (like doctrine, ritual, organization, and evangelization methods) are explored, as well as the role of the new converts’ social networks. The conclusion offers a new theoretical framework for analyzing the role of social networks in Pentecostal conversion for the Chile and Paraguay cases and for Latin America in general.

Brothers or others in arms? Civilian constituencies and rebel fragmentation in civil war

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric S Mosinger
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Diffusion Model ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Rebel Groups ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Cross National

Why do united rebel fronts emerge in some insurgencies, while in other insurgencies multiple rebel groups mobilize independently to challenge the state, and often, each other? I develop a diffusion model of rebel fragmentation in which participation in rebellion spreads, completely or incompletely, through networks of civilians and dissidents. Using this theoretical framework I hypothesize that two factors jointly determine whether a rebel movement remains unified or fragments: the rebels’ investment in civilian mobilization, and the overall level of civilian grievances. The theory predicts that widely shared grievances motivate the formation of many small dissident groups willing to challenge the regime. Given the difficulty of collective action between disparate opposition actors, an emerging rebel movement will tend towards fragmentation when popular grievances are high. Yet extremely high civilian grievances can also help rebels activate broad, overlapping civilian social networks that serve to bridge together dissident groups. Mass-mobilizing rebel groups, benefiting from the participation of broad civilian networks, are most likely to forge and maintain a unified rebel front. I test this theory alongside several alternatives drawn from cross-national studies of conflict using regression analysis. The quantitative evidence lends considerable credence to the role of rebel constituencies in preventing or fomenting rebel fragmentation.

scholarly journals Neglected, Protected, Ejected: Latin American Women Caught by Crimmigration

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Dingeman ◽  
Yekaterina Arzhayev ◽  
Cristy Ayala ◽  
Erika Bermudez ◽  
Lauren Padama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Life History ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Central American ◽  
Legal Aid ◽  
American Women

The United States deported 24,870 women in 2013, mostly to Latin America. We examine life history interviews with Mexican and Central American women who were apprehended, detained, and experienced different outcomes. We find that norms of the “crimmigration era” override humanitarian concerns, such that the state treats migrants as criminals first and as persons with claims for relief second. Removal and relief decisions appear less dependent on eligibility than geography, access to legal aid, and public support. Women’s experiences parallel men’s but are often worsened by their gendered statuses. Far from passively accepting the violence of crimmigration, women resist through discourse and activism.

The role of Latin America in the world sugar trade

2010 ◽  
pp. 103-108
Author(s):  
Leonardo Bichara Rocha
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Central American ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Raw Sugar ◽  
Sugar Trade ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sugar Exports

This paper reviews the major changes and trends in the raw and white sugar trade flows involving Latin American exporters and their partners. The paper assesses the recent absolute and relative growth in the volume of sugar exports from Brazil (the region’s and the world’s dominant exporter) and other major regional exporters such as Guatemala, Cuba, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina. Latin America has emerged as the world’s largest net sugar exporting region. Significant volumes of raw sugar of Latin American origin are now used by a large number of new destination refineries which have been set up in the Middle East and Asia. Indeed, the share of Latin America in global raw sugar exports has increased from 62.8% on average between 2002 and 2004 to 67.3% on average between 2006 and 2008. This paper also evaluates the impact of preferential trade agreements, including the CAFTA and the EPA, for Central American and Caribbean sugar exporters, as well as the implications of NAFTA for Mexico’s sugar. Finally, the paper discusses the potential gains and benefits that diversification into ethanol and cogeneration have provided to the major Latin American sugarcane industries.

Multinational Mujahidin

2018 ◽  
pp. 117-140
Author(s):  
Don Rassler
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
South Asia ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Comparative Dynamics

Don Rassler’s chapter documents the contemporary knowledge of the Haqqani network in the context of its establishment and early infrastructure development, especially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. In looking at this yet another transnational jihadi network between South Asia and the Gulf born during the anti-Soviet jihad, the chapter revolves around mujahidin commander Jalaluddin Haqqani and his ties to the two countries. Tracing the comparative dynamics and evolution of these ties, the chapter sketches the development of the Haqqani network in both countries highlighting the importance of the role of religious and private social networks. It emphasizes on the greater importance of institutional factors in the case of the UAE as well as the ambiguous approach of the Saudi establishment towards Haqqani.

Persistent Inequality? Trade, Factor Endowments, and Inequality in Republican Latin America

2013 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leticia Arroyo Abad
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Factor Endowments ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Persistent Inequality

Using a new data set, this article presents new evidence on inequality in Latin America for the nineteenth century and studies the effects of factor endowments and trade on inequality. Recent research has highlighted the link between the colonial origins of inequality and its persistence in Latin America. We find that inequality varied substantially throughout the century and across the region. We identify the impact of changing factor endowments and trade on inequality using a simple theoretical framework. This work suggests that the role of initial colonial origins has been overemphasized as important changes took place during postcolonial times.

The Labor Share Squeeze in Latin America: A Dynamic Heterogeneous Approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 20170083
Author(s):  
Ryan Joy ◽  
Cesar M. Rodriguez ◽  
Inder J. Ruprah
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Financial Integration ◽  
Public Spending ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
Labor Share ◽  
Pooled Mean Group ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Latin American Countries

This paper analyzes the long-run relationship between labor share and its determinants for 20 Latin American countries from 1980 to 2014. Using the pooled mean group estimator, we find evidence that technological change, the globalization process, and financial integration, have contributed to the decline of labor share in Latin America. We also find evidence of the importance of institutional factors and public spending for the labor share. Finally, we discuss the role of the informal sector on the dynamics of the decline. Our key findings are robust to various specifications and methodologies.

Searching for ‘success’: generation, gender and onward migration in the Iranian diaspora

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Young Age ◽  
Onward Migration ◽  
Social Fields ◽  
Transnational Social Fields ◽  
High Level ◽  
Iranian Diaspora

This article uses the concepts of ‘transnational social fields’ and ‘habitus’ to explore the multifaceted role families play in shaping the aspirations of onward migrating youth. The article draws on biographical life history interviews conducted with the children of Iranian migrants who were raised in Sweden but moved to London, UK as adults. The findings of the study suggest that from a young age, all the participants were pressured by their parents to perform well academically, and to achieve high level careers. These goals were easier to achieve in London than in Sweden for several reasons. Interestingly, however, participants’ understandings of what constituted success and their motivations for onward migration were nuanced and varied considerably by gender. The study contributes to an understanding of the role of multi-sited transnational social fields in shaping the aspirations of migrant youths, as well as the strategies taken up by these migrants to achieve their goals.

Experience of Ethnographic Fieldwork in an English Benedictine Monastery

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Irvine
Keyword(s):  
Social World ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Fieldwork Experience ◽  
The Social ◽  
Peripheral Participation

What is the role of imitation in ethnographic fieldwork, and what are its limits? This article explores what it means to participate in a particular fieldsite; a Catholic English Benedictine monastery. A discussion of the importance of hospitality in the life of the monastery shows how the guest becomes a point of contact between the community and the wider society within which that community exists. The peripheral participation of the ethnographer as monastic guest is not about becoming incorporated, but about creating a space within which knowledge can be communicated. By focusing on the process of re-learning in the monastery – in particular, relearning how to experience silence and work – I discuss some of the ways in which the fieldwork experience helped me to reassess the social world to which I would return.

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